An integrated decision support system for the Mediterranean forests

Mediterranean forests contain a relevant biological diversity and are relevant for local economy. However, they are subject to various risks, particularly the risk of forest fires. This turns the critical decisions of forest managers, affecting both the long-term future of the forest and daily activities, to be difficult. To simulate decisions, and help managers and policy makers, a decision support system, which integrates the biological, environmental and economic management perspectives of agricultural and forest areas, was developed and considers the activities existing in the territory. The decision support system considers the characteristics of the biophysical units that comprise the territorial study area, production technologies and conservation of agro-forestry goods and preferences of managers or stakeholders. The proposed approach was applied in a pilot Forest Intervention Zone (FIZ) located within the Algarve region inner land. The results show that the decision support system proposed is an important tool for managing the territory and for implementing the manager's decisions. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.